In the end, the law caught up with the Easton Parking Authority's version of Batman — John Morganelli.

Or vice versa.

In fact, Easton told Morganelli, Northampton County's district attorney, that he was off the hook for what's become the city's most notorious parking ticket. Morganelli received the ticket on Dec. 11 and rather than pay the $15 fine, he sat on it to test Easton's parking enforcement.

But the DA turned outlaw is paying his fine, anyway. On Wednesday, Morganelli forwarded Easton a check for $65 — despite the fact that his parking ticket had been torn up — to "avoid the appearance of impropriety, special treatment or favoritism," he said in a letter to Easton Solicitor William Murphy. .

"It's not going to break my bank account," Morganelli said.

Morganelli said he received a letter from Murphy on Feb. 25 that said he didn't need to pay his fine, because the city determined the meter "failed to register any time upon insertion of the appropriate coinage."

Murphy did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.

Morganelli said his beef was never about the money. Rather, he said he'd heard complaints that people weren't being given the chance to appeal parking tickets in court.

In February, Morganelli mailed Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr., Solicitor Murphy and Police Chief Carl Scalzo a letter, telling them he never received a citation, and asking for information about the city's parking system.

Easton officials said they changed their parking enforcement system in 2013 from a criminal system — the classic, appeal-your-ticket-to-a-district-magistrate model — to a civil system. Violators who want to appeal now go through a five-tier process within the police department.

Panto agreed to work with Morganelli to clarify and improve their parking enforcement.

However, the city never changed its code to reflect the 2013 change to its parking system. Easton code still refers to district magistrates and citations, even though in practice neither are involved in appealing Easton parking tickets.

So, council on Feb. 25 introduced amendments to its traffic code that remove that old language. They'll vote on them later this month.

"They have tried to catch up," Morganelli said.

Meanwhile, Morganelli said he's received information from the city regarding its parking policy. But it's not enough, he said.

First, Morganelli said he hasn't seen a new envelope. The envelope that Morganelli found under his wiper blade on Dec. 11 said he received a citation.

He also hasn't seen anything on the notices Easton mails out to drivers who haven't paid that indicates what a person can do to appeal.

Easton's website includes a link to a form for people who want to appeal. Also, city officials pointed out that documents include a phone number for people to call if they have questions. Still, city officials said they'd change their tickets to make it clearer.

Finally, Morganelli said he hasn't seen anything in state law that supports their system.